A patient engagement research project will enable medical education at UBC to be more responsive to the needs of patients and society in British Columbia. 

“Involvement of patients and the public in healthcare delivery and health research has become increasingly common and expected, but sustained patient and public involvement in medical education at an institutional level is rare,” says Angela Towle, who is Co-Director of the Patient and Community Partnership for Education (PCPE) at UBC Health.

PCPE undertook the research project over the last year to help the Undergraduate Medical Program in the Faculty of Medicine engage directly with patients and the public to fulfill its social accountability mandate to define and address the priority health concerns of the populations it has a responsibility to serve.

A team of faculty, students, residents, and patient/public co-investigators identified eight guiding principles for patient and public engagement with a medical school: reciprocity, partnership/shared decision-making, inclusion, different levels of engagement, co-production, two-way communication, supports, and accountability. Based on this set of evidence-based guiding principles, the team co-created a model and processes for the authentic, ongoing, and sustainable engagement of patients and the public in the mission, goals, curriculum, and delivery of medical education. 

The project also has broader implications. Although the context of the project was medical education, the findings and recommendations are applicable to all health professional programs.  

The project is now in the dissemination phase, with a series of activities planned over the next year.

To learn more, download the project report, Bringing Patients and Society Back into the Social Accountability of a Medical School: Synthesis Report and Recommendations, or contact Angela Towle. 

Posted January 12, 2023